1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for baking bread in an automated household oven using steam.
2. Description of the Related Art
The quality of baked bread depends on several factors, including preparation of the dough, including kneading, shaping, and rising, baking of the dough, and storage of the bread after baking. During the baking process, leavening agents expand the dough, and a crust forms at the outside layer of the dough. A commonly known leavening agent is yeast, which releases carbon dioxide as a by-product of digestion to expand the dough. The timing of the crust formation process is critical because it affects not only the properties (i.e., thickness, texture, and color) of the crust but also the expansion of the dough within the crust. The crust preferably forms first as a moist and pliable crust, which becomes rigid and crisp later in the baking process to give the bread a desired outer texture and appearance. The moist and pliable crust formed at the outer layer of the dough in the initial few minutes of baking the bread is generally flexible and expands with the dough so that the dough can fully expand. When the outside layer of the dough sets as a crisp and generally inflexible crust, gases in the dough can no longer expand to increase the loaf size; thus, it is preferred that the formation of the crisp crust does not occur until later in the baking process. If the crisp crust formation happens too early, the gases from the leavening agents cannot expand the dough and consequently build up pressure within the loaf. Eventually, the trapped gases undesirably crack the crisp crust for release to the surrounding environment. Adding steam to the baking environment helps form the desired moist, flexible crust in the initial stages of baking and delays the setting of the hard, crisp crust. As a result, the gases can fully expand the loaf and do not form cracks in the crust. During the last stages of baking, the steam is removed to create a dry oven, which is required for the formation of the crisp crust, and the presence of too much steam in the last stages of baking results in an undesirable crust. Additionally, the steam in the initial baking stages gelatinizes starch on the outside layer of the dough, which dries out near the end of baking after the steam is removed to help formation of the crisp, brown crust.
Ovens found in most homes today are usually not equipped with a system to introduce steam into the oven cavity during the bread baking process. In response, bread bakers have developed several home remedies for supplying steam into the oven cavity. Such remedies include spraying the dough with water while the oven preheats, placing a pan in the oven before preheating and filling the pan with water when placing the dough in the oven, spraying water onto the walls of the oven with a spray bottle after the placing the dough in the oven and continuing to do so until the loaf begins to color, and throwing ice cubes on the bottom of the oven to create steam. Another method involves forming holes in the bottom of a muffin tin, placing the tin on the bottom rack of the oven, filling the tin with boiling water about a minute before putting the dough in the oven so the water drips onto the bottom of the oven and creates steam, and removing the tin after about five to ten minutes.
While the home remedies succeed at introducing steam into the oven cavity, they are relatively inconvenient and unpredictable, thereby leading to inconsistent results. The water or ice introduced into the oven cavity vaporizes to create steam, which fills the oven cavity. The amount of steam in the oven can be quantified as a relative humidity, and the degree of relative humidity affects crust formation. Because the water or ice is manually introduced, the quantity of steam and, therefore, the relative humidity, are not regulated, and, further, the relative humidity is not regulated as a function of the cooking cycle time. As a result, the relative humidity in the oven cavity can differ from ideal conditions at various times during the baking process and lead to premature formation of the crisp crust or insufficient formation of the crisp crust at the end of the baking process. Further, some the methods require the baker to periodically check on the bread and add more water or ice to the cavity if necessary. This process can be inconvenient to a baker who desires to leave the bread unattended after placing the dough in the oven. Some higher end contemporary ovens incorporate an automated steam generating system that can be used to bake bread. These ovens eliminate the need for the baker to manually introduce water or ice into the cavity.